To enable Autologon in Windows^® XP Professional

Option 1: Download and install TweakUI from the Powertoys for Windows XP collection. In the Logon section, set the default username and password to be used.

Option 2: Do the following

1) Click Start, Run and enter CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2
2) In the list of users, highlight the user account you want automatically logged on.
3) Uncheck Users must enter a Username and password.................
4) Click Apply.
5) In the next dialog, enter the password for the account you selected in Step 2, if any
6) OK your way out.

How Do I Do a "Repair Installation"

Configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive. For more information about how to do this, please refer to your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer.

Insert your Windows XP compact disc (CD) into your CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.

(You can also boot with a Windows 98/Me Startup disk with CD support and run WINNT.EXE in the I386 folder on the CD)

When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.

When you see the following message displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER:

    To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

At this point an option to press R to enter the Recovery Console is displayed. Do not select this option.

On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.

Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press the R key to repair Windows XP.

Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

Control Programs That Run at Startup

The best way to prevent a program from running at Startup, is to check the program's own options for a way to prevent this.  Most good quality programs will provide an option for this. 

If you can't find the option there, click Start, Run and enter MSCONFIG.  Go to the Startup tab, and uncheck the item there.  This method is not always 100% successful.  An example is a program that you do use, but you don't want running automatically.  Some programs will check to see if the program's own options say it should run at Startup. If the program thinks its supposed to load at startup, it will re-create the autorun entry.

To enable Autologon in Windows^® XP Home Edition

Option 1: Download and install TweakUI from the Powertoys for Windows XP collection. In the Logon section, set the default username and password to be used.

Option 2: Do the following

1) Click Start, Run and enter CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2
2) In the list of users, highlight the user account you want automatically logged on.
3) Uncheck Users must enter a Username and password
4) Click Apply.
5) In the next dialog, enter the password for the account you selected in Step 2, if any
6) OK

How do I repair Internet Explorer in Windows^® XP?
 

The ability to Repair Internet Explorer does not exist in the version that ships with Windows XP.  This feature only becomes available after you upgrade to a newer version.  This is normal and has been this way since Windows 98 and IE4.

However, you can reinstall IE in Windows XP by clicking Start, Run and entering the following command:

rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 %windir%\Inf\ie.inf

You will need to have your XP CD available.

How to Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer and Outlook Express in Windows XP (Q318378)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q318378

Stop Messenger Service Popups

The Messenger Service, not to be confused with Windows Messenger, is used to send messages across a network or LAN.  Spammers have found that they can exploit this to send messages to your computer, when you're connected to the Internet.  However, the Messenger Service is not the problem.  The reason that they can send these messages is that your Internet connection is not secure.  The use of a firewall will stop these messages. For detailed information on Windows XP's built-in firewall, open Help and Support and search for "firewall".

To enable XP's built in firewall, Open Network Connections, or right click My Network Places and select Properties.

Right click the Dial-up, LAN or High-Speed Internet connection that you want to protect and select Properties.

On the Advanced tab, under Internet Connection Firewall, select one of the following:

To enable Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), select the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box.

To disable Internet Connection Firewall, clear the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box.

If you have a valid reason to run without a firewall, then you can disable the Messenger Service.  Go to Start, Run and enter SERVICES.MSC.  Locate the entry for Messenger. Double click this entry and set it to Stopped and Disabled.

Outlook Express keeps prompting for your password

NOTE:  Following this procedure will remove all stored passwords for your user account. Make sure you know what they are before performing this procedure!!

This fix also applies to Outlook, other programs that store passwords in the Protected Storage System Provider  sub branch of the Registry. It also corrects some issues with Internet Explorer and Autocomplete.

This is caused by a damaged Registry key.  To Remove the broken Key in Windows^® XP

1) Click Start, click Run, and then type regedt32 in the Open box.

2) Locate the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider

3) Right click the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider key, and then Select Permissions.

4) In the Permissions for Protected Storage System Provider dialog box, click the Advanced tab. Make sure that the <Username> has Full Control access. Select "Replace permission entries..."

5) Click OK.  

6) Repeat steps 3 through 5 for each subkey that is listed under the Protected Storage System Provider registry key; otherwise, you may receive the following error message when you try to delete the Protected Storage System Provider key:

        Registry editor could not delete the key currently selected. The key or one of its
        subkeys does not give you delete access.

Note: The sub keys under Protected Storage System Provide will look something like this:

    S-1-5-21-1085031214-1202660629-1708537768-1003

7) At this point, you can delete the Protected Storage System Provider key by clicking Delete on the Edit menu. If you prefer, you can first export a copy of this key, and then delete the key. To export the key, right click the Protected Storage System Provider key, and select Export.  The exported file can be re-imported by double clicking on it.

8) When you click Delete, you receive the following message:

        Registry editor will delete the currently selected key and all its subkeys. Do you want to continue
        the operation?

Click Yes to finish the process.

9) Start Outlook Express. When Outlook Express checks your mail account(s) you will be able to re-enter your password(s). This process repopulates the Protected Storage System Provider registry key with the correct information for that computer's SID.